Area agencies look to fill vehicle void

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Nichols examines one of the new Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles that is being used in The Woodlands to replace the Ford Crown Victoria.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Nichols examines one of the new Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles that is being used in The Woodlands to replace the Ford Crown Victoria.

Photo: David Hopper

Photo: David Hopper

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Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Nichols examines one of the new Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles that is being used in The Woodlands to replace the Ford Crown Victoria.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Nichols examines one of the new Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles that is being used in The Woodlands to replace the Ford Crown Victoria.

Photo: David Hopper

Area agencies look to fill vehicle void

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The Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor was once the nation's uniformed symbol of police patrol presence.

From the mid 1990s to April 2011, Ford manufactured a favorite among law enforcement agencies in the Crown Victoria. Its combination of handling, size, power and price made it the standard patrol vehicle across the country. When Ford announced it would no longer produce the Crown Victoria, agencies were forced to explore alternatives.

Now, nearly a year since Ford discontinued the famed police cruiser, agencies in Montgomery County have found that different automakers are making a variety of quality vehicles that are meeting their individual patrol needs.

"It might not be a good fit for every department, but it works well for us," Shenandoah Assistant Police Chief Bryan Carlisle said of the Tahoe.

With a large commercial business base, Carlisle said it important that his officers are able to sit higher because it allows them to see over cars and keep a close eye on businesses. Both the Crown Victoria and Dodge Charger lacked that visibility.

"When someone's walking to their car and they're able to see one of our vehicles patrolling the area, it goes a long way to make them feel safer. At the same time, bad guys see that we are there so they're going to be less likely to commit a crime," he said. "We went through several cycles of the Chargers and it just didn't hold up to what we needed it to do. The Tahoe doesn't have the power of a Charger, but it has that high visibility, so there's a trade off."

The department has a patrol fleet of around 10 vehicles and nearly all are Tahoes.

Carlisle said Tahoe is an all-around safer vehicle for officers, although the higher center of gravity makes it more prone to rollovers than patrol sedans. Chevy addressed that issue by giving the vehicle extra suspension and dropping the body about four inches lower than a standard Chevy Tahoe, he said.

"Another thing we found is the maintenance is great. Whenever there are issues, they are usually minor, so that's been a big savings for us," Carlisle said.

Among the qualities law enforcement officials look for in a patrol vehicle is whether it is rear-wheel drive, has a lot of room for equipment and suspects and power, said Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Chief Randy McDaniel.

Rear-wheel drive helps with the durability of a patrol vehicle because of the constant stop-and-go action it goes through, he said.

Of the vehicles currently on the market for police, the rear-wheel drive Charger is the leader in power, said McDaniel, with more than 360 horsepower. The other thing that makes the Charger attractive is its price. It is one of the least expensive police vehicles available.

McDaniel said the county is in the process of bidding out a contract to purchase 49 vehicles to replace the department's list of aging Crown Victoria patrol cars. There are more than 210 vehicles in the department's patrol fleet.

The division of the Sheriff's Office that covers The Woodlands has 82 patrol vehicles. McDaniel said. The Woodlands Township officials specifically asked for the Tahoe as their patrol vehicle of chose. The division received 10 new replacement Tahoes in late April.

"Our current bids are for the Charger, Tahoe and we're looking at the new Caprice," McDaniel said. "We normally go with the lowest bid. All things being the same, we probably will be purchasing Dodge Chargers."

Ask McDaniel which is his favorite of the three and he'll say the Tahoe. The Sheriff's Office purchased a number of Tahoes at a discounted rate more than a year ago when budget cuts to other law enforcement agencies caused the market to be flooded with Tahoes.

"I'm extremely pleased with the Tahoe. I would personally go with the Tahoe because of what type of vehicle it is. They offer great visibility and they are safe vehicles," McDaniel said.

The Conroe Police Department is one of the first agencies in the state to begin converting its fleet to the new Chevrolet Caprice PPV, which was first introduced last year.

After Ford made its announcement about the future of the Crown Vic, the CPD formed a committee to test the different vehicles on the market. The department decided last year it would choose the Chevrolet.

Prior to the Caprice, Chevrolet gave law enforcement agencies an option in the Impala, but front-wheel drive and a lack of power turned off numerous agencies in the county.

Chevy offers both a V-6 and V-8 engine for the new Caprice.

"So far, everybody seems to like it. Because it's a midsize vehicle, it's a little smaller than the Crown Vic, but what you lose in interior room, it more than makes up in performance and handling," Smart said. "It is a great general purpose police vehicle, but it can also hold its own in a pursuit."

Besides the overall performance of the Caprice, Smart said it is also one of the better looking police vehicles on the road today.